Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas became the latest governor to participate in Face to Face (#MeetFacetoFace), an initiative that encourages policymakers to connect with people closest to the correctional system. He joins 13 other governors—7 Republicans and 6 Democrats—as participants of the initiative, which is sponsored by the National Reentry Resource Center in partnership with the Association of State Correctional Administrators, JustLeadershipUSA, and the National Center for Victims of Crime.

Gov. Hutchinson met with Richard King, a Navy veteran who served in the late 1960’s and now lives with bipolar disorder. When King experienced a mental health crisis earlier this year, he was taken first to the local hospital, then to the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center, and finally to the place where he received the treatment he truly needed–the Sebastian County Five West Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU).

“I signed Justice Reinvestment legislation to better serve people struggling with mental illnesses,” said Gov. Hutchinson. “Hearing Mr. King describe the confusion and frustration he felt at the jail, and the stigma of violence that’s often associated with mental illnesses, opened my eyes to the realities that many people in our state face. His story illustrates that jail doesn’t work as a treatment center but that proper care in a place like a CSU does, and it gives me great hope in the future success of these units.”

The Sebastian County CSU is the first of its kind in Arkansas and is operated by community behavioral health provider Western Arkansas Counseling and Guidance Center. It was established by Act 423—Justice Reinvestment legislation that passed with bipartisan support in March 2017—which not only established four CSUs across the state, but also mandates crisis intervention training for all law enforcement officials.

“They help you get on your medication and get back on your feet so you can get out there and back into civilization,” King said of the Sebastian County CSU.

To date, more than 290 law enforcement officers have received crisis intervention training since Act 423 was implemented, and more than 226 people in Sebastian, Crawford, Logan, Franklin, Scott, and Polk counties have been treated by the Sebastian County CSU since it opened on March 1, 2018.

“You look at people suffering from mental illnesses, and the stress those cases put on law enforcement, and you understand how urgently we need to collaborate with local behavioral health providers,” said Sebastian County Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck. “Not every person who’s arrested is a bad guy. Recognizing that and having the courage and compassion to change how we respond to people is our job as law enforcement officers.”

Sebastian County’s work toward better local responses to people who have mental illnesses aligns with their commitment to reduce the overall prevalence of mental illnesses in their jail as part of the national Stepping Up initiative. The Sebastian County CSU works with the local hospital and detention center to share data about the number of people who have mental illnesses and co-occurring substance addictions, and to identify people in county facilities who have complex care needs and get them the treatment they need.

“Arkansas is providing police officers and sheriffs with more and better options for helping people who have mental illnesses. State policymakers are showing the good that can come when they have the benefit of a variety of perspectives,” said Megan Quattlebaum, director of the CSG Justice Center. “Local and state officials, law enforcement, and behavioral health agencies are working together to keep their communities safe and to help those who need it. In the process, lawmakers are allocating funds more efficiently, and keeping the people affected by these policies at the forefront of the conversation.”

This webinar is part of Occupational Licensing: Assessing State Policy and Practice, a project of the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, and The Council of State Governments.

Finding and maintaining employment is a critical aspect of preventing recidivism among people who have criminal records. But having a criminal record can make it difficult, or even impossible, for a person to find work, especially in a field that requires an occupational license. This webinar discusses some of the barriers to occupational licensing that people who have criminal records face. Presenters share best practices and policy options for policymakers to help address these barriers.

For people in the midst of a mental health crisis, the criminal justice system and jail are all too often the first or only available response—but not necessarily the best.

Today, a person who is experiencing a mental health crisis is more likely to encounter law enforcement than they are to receive medical assistance. Local jail populations reflect this reality. Rates of serious mental illness in jails are four to six times higher than in the general population.

Statewide support for system-level changes can alter how we respond to mental illness in our communities, reduce the number of people who encounter the criminal justice system, and maintain public safety. This report examines ways in which states can support diverting appropriate individuals with mental illness away from the criminal justice system entirely and looks at correctional interventions that can hold offenders accountable while also connecting them to treatment and services designed to reduce recidivism.

This report from the National Conference of State Legislatures connects legislators to the tools they need to consider cost effective policies that respond to mental health issues and enhance public safety.

Source: JusticeCenter

]]>https://www.communitysuccess.org/the-legislative-primer-series-on-front-end-justice-mental-health/feed/02669Financial Support for Victims of Crime: A Quick Guide for Corrections and Community Supervision Officershttps://www.communitysuccess.org/financial-support-for-victims-of-crime-a-quick-guide-for-corrections-and-community-supervision-officers/
https://www.communitysuccess.org/financial-support-for-victims-of-crime-a-quick-guide-for-corrections-and-community-supervision-officers/#respondTue, 07 Aug 2018 20:32:37 +0000https://www.communitysuccess.org/financial-support-for-victims-of-crime-a-quick-guide-for-corrections-and-community-supervision-officers/

This brief from the National Reentry Resource Center outlines the role that corrections, probation, and parole officers can play in informing victims of the supports to which they are entitled and how they can pursue restitution, compensation, or other means of financial support. In the case of restitution—where victims are repaid directly by the person who committed the crime against them—repayment establishes a sense of accountability for the person who committed the crime by creating a concrete link between the offense and the harm caused to the victim.

The CSG Justice Center prepared this document for the National Reentry Resource Center with input from the National Center for Victims of Crime.

Hosted by the Clean Slate Clearinghouse with funding support from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance

Date: Wednesday, Aug. 22Time: 2–3 p.m. ET

Does your office provide juvenile record clearance representation? Are there many young people in your community who are eligible for record clearance but haven’t sought assistance? Do you have poor attendance for your clinics or other events? The presenters will discuss overcoming the challenges to effective community engagement and explore how to increase the number of young people your office assists in clearing their juvenile records.

Speaking to a group of women community leaders and advocates, Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong asked a rhetorical question: “When was the first time you were a victim?”

He said law enforcement officials are trying to understand women’s experiences are typically different from men’s experiences, and that changes how they interact in a jail.

By the time a woman is arrested, she’s often had a lengthy history of abuse and is wary of men in authority roles.

“That’s what we’re taking into account,” Furlong said. “The female population is not the same as the male population. We’re not even speaking the same language in that jail, and when we don’t speak the same language we tend to do more harm than good.”

Furlong introduced Emily Salisbury, an expert in female interaction with the criminal justice system, as part of a workshop designed to better understand the processes for women in incarceration.

“It doesn’t mean people shouldn’t be held accountable, but maybe there’s a need for training in a trauma-informed care model,” Salisbury explained. “It’s pretty sickening to know how much trauma these women have suffered. It’s absolutely transformed the way we do corrections.

“It’s not just sitting around and singing ‘Kumbaya,’ it’s addressing the problem in an effective way.”

The Carson City Sheriff’s Office, along with Carson City Health and Human Services and Partnership Carson City, sponsored the workshop July 12.

Bettie Kirkland, the executive director of Project Return in Nashville, joins For the Record to discuss her organization’s work connecting hundreds of people who have criminal records to employment each year and reflects on what it means to ensure they have a chance at success.

Kirkland, center, on-site at Project Return

About For The Record

Around 70 million adults in the United States have a criminal record, and thousands more work to help those with records succeed in their communities. Each one of these people has a story.

This interview series, produced as part of the Clean Slate Clearinghouse, explores the varying perspectives on often overlooked and underexplored aspects of criminal records and what it means to clear them. In each episode, Rashawn Davis, a policy analyst at The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, sits down with people in the field—which include those with criminal records as well as policymakers, lawyers, and social workers, among others—to capture their experiences and their visions for the future of criminal record clearance.

Hosted by the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center

This webinar will present an online expert Q&A discussion on “Addressing Vicarious Trauma for the Individual.” Vicarious trauma (VT) is related to secondary traumatic stress and can happen when a victim service provider who uses controlled empathy becomes secondarily traumatized when working with victims who are experiencing primary traumatic stress. By attempting to remain objective, a service provider’s inner sense of who they are, and their beliefs about feeling safe and trusting others, can change. From not being able to sleep to feeling overwhelmed and not being able to maintain healthy boundaries, VT symptoms negatively impact mental health. This webinar will help present information on what contributes to VT, such as professional isolation after hearing trauma‐related narratives.

Fire departments and emergency medical services (EMS) are essential partners in front-end responses to people with behavioral health conditions, including when they have mental health and substance use crises. This webinar will focus on the ways that fire departments and EMS can be partners with behavioral health providers and other first responders on early diversion initiatives.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Administration for Children and Families’ Children’s Bureau is seeking applications for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program. These targeted grants will be cooperative agreements awarded to regional partnerships that provide, through interagency collaboration and integration of programs, activities and services designed to increase the well-being, improve permanency, and enhance the safety of children who are in an out-of-home placement or are at risk of being placed in out-of-home care as a result of a parent’s or caregiver’s substance addiction.

The solicitation provides further details about the program. Applications are due by August 13.